Voters have a right to know finances of political parties

The reply provided by leading national political parties to a Right To Information application enquiring about their leading donors and the manner in which the donation is made highlights the lack of transparency in which the Indian political system operates. All except the Communist Party India declined to provide the information mostly stating that they were "not a public authority" and had no obligation to provide the details under the information act.

The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), a voluntary organisation working towards electoral reforms which had filed the RTI has now approached the Chief Information Commission (CIC) requesting that information about donor funds to parties be revealed, in public interest.

According to the ADR, the Indian National Congress and the CPI (M) returned the RTI application and the postal order fee stating that the party did not come under the RTI, while the BJP and BSP failed to respond to the application. The NCP claimed it didn't have enough manpower to provide the manpower.

Their responses defy logic all the more as Section 29-C of the Representation of People Act 1951 makes it mandatory for political parties to provide the details of contributions/donations they receive above Rs 20,000 to the Election Commission of India, every year.

The CIC is due to hear the petition filed on March 23 in the coming week, but the refusal flies in the face of claims of transparency being made by politicians across parties. Disclosure of such financial information should be made mandatory to enable voters to make an informed political choice. Access to funding sources of their government is after all a cornerstone of any healthy democracy.